Compal Electronics Inc (
Compal will buy 26.6 million shares at NT$37 per share for a 69 percent stake in Arcadyan Technology Corp (
The deal was approved by the two companies' boards of directors yesterday.
"Compal will be able to create a complete wireless communications business by integrating resources with Arcadyan," the statement said.
The new business will move into the areas of digital multimedia home applications and dual-mode phones by utilizing Arcadyan's Internet protocol technology, Compal said.
It is now commonplace for laptops to have built-in wireless communications features, resulting in increased collaboration between notebook computer vendors and wireless technology companies, according to the statement.
The partnership would ensure ample wireless module supplies for laptop computer makers, while at the same time helping the firm to enlarge its client base and introduce new products, Compal said.
Compal will reduce its holding in Arcadyan to 60 percent after distributing shares to employees, with the remaining shares to be held by Accton. Arcadyan will probably hold an initial public offering within two years, the companies said.
Ray Chen (
Although the company projected a rosy outlook for its notebook shipments in the second half of the year, its gross margin in the second quarter dipped below 5 percent for the first time to 4.7 percent, compared with 6.2 percent a year ago.
Chen said on April 26 that Compal would leverage mergers and acquisitions to move into new areas such as wireless communications, digital home entertainment, automotive electronics and portable media devices.
"Our product diversification is still in its infancy ... without major mergers, this segment will probably contribute a single-digit percentage to our revenues this year," he said at the time.
Currently, notebook computers account for 90 percent of Compal's sales, with the remainder contributed by non-core business such as liquid-crystal-display televisions and monitors, wireless products and portable media players.
The firm said earlier this month it expected its non-notebook segments to account for 20 percent of total sales by 2008.
Compal reported profit of NT$8.42 billion on sales of NT$266 billion last year, while Accton Technology posted a loss of NT$302 million last year on sales of NT$18.3 billion.
Shares of Compal closed down 0.2 percent to close at NT$27.95 yesterday on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, while shares of Accton were up 1.7 percent to NT$18.2.
With an approval rating of just two percent, Peruvian President Dina Boluarte might be the world’s most unpopular leader, according to pollsters. Protests greeted her rise to power 29 months ago, and have marked her entire term — joined by assorted scandals, investigations, controversies and a surge in gang violence. The 63-year-old is the target of a dozen probes, including for her alleged failure to declare gifts of luxury jewels and watches, a scandal inevitably dubbed “Rolexgate.” She is also under the microscope for a two-week undeclared absence for nose surgery — which she insists was medical, not cosmetic — and is
CAUTIOUS RECOVERY: While the manufacturing sector returned to growth amid the US-China trade truce, firms remain wary as uncertainty clouds the outlook, the CIER said The local manufacturing sector returned to expansion last month, as the official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose 2.1 points to 51.0, driven by a temporary easing in US-China trade tensions, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. The PMI gauges the health of the manufacturing industry, with readings above 50 indicating expansion and those below 50 signaling contraction. “Firms are not as pessimistic as they were in April, but they remain far from optimistic,” CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said at a news conference. The full impact of US tariff decisions is unlikely to become clear until later this month
GROWING CONCERN: Some senior Trump administration officials opposed the UAE expansion over fears that another TSMC project could jeopardize its US investment Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is evaluating building an advanced production facility in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and has discussed the possibility with officials in US President Donald Trump’s administration, people familiar with the matter said, in a potentially major bet on the Middle East that would only come to fruition with Washington’s approval. The company has had multiple meetings in the past few months with US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and officials from MGX, an influential investment vehicle overseen by the UAE president’s brother, the people said. The conversations are a continuation of talks that
CHIP DUTIES: TSMC said it voiced its concerns to Washington about tariffs, telling the US commerce department that it wants ‘fair treatment’ to protect its competitiveness Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday reiterated robust business prospects for this year as strong artificial intelligence (AI) chip demand from Nvidia Corp and other customers would absorb the impacts of US tariffs. “The impact of tariffs would be indirect, as the custom tax is the importers’ responsibility, not the exporters,” TSMC chairman and chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said at the chipmaker’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Hsinchu City. TSMC’s business could be affected if people become reluctant to buy electronics due to inflated prices, Wei said. In addition, the chipmaker has voiced its concern to the US Department of Commerce
RSS